What video card to buy for less than $100?

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bball1523

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Jun 26, 2005
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I have had a 6800 gt 256mb (http://www.newegg.com/product/...?Item=N82E16814130215) since summer of 2005, and recently my computer wouldn't startup past the XP loading screen, so I went out and bought a 8400 GS 512mb DDR2 video card for $60 plus a $20 mail-in rebate.

I am curious to know if I should keep the 8400 GS or maybe if I should go and buy a different one that is better suited for me, which is less then $100?

Also is the 8400 GS that I bought better than my 6800 GT that I used to have?

I don't play many games, if any it'd be simulation games such as Rollercoaster Tycoon 3, The Sims, and sports such as the new NBA 2k9 for PC.

What do you guys think?
 
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bball1523

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Jun 26, 2005
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How is my 8400 GS card slower? What specs make it slower? I know it has 512mb but GDDR2 rather than GDDR3, it is 64-bit rather than 256-bit. Do these things really make a big difference?

Is there a card that is slightly better than my old 6800 GT?
 
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MarcVenice

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Denithor

Denithor

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Apr 11, 2004
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8400GS was never intended as a gaming card. It was designed to fit HTPC needs (HD video decoding) and just doesn't have the texture processing power to handle games properly.

Take a look at the comparison table on the GeForce 8 Series Wiki page. If you compare the 8400GS to even today's low end gaming cards (8800GS & 9600GT) you will see big differences.

8400GS
Shaders 16
Texture units 8
Memory bandwidth 6.4 GB/s
Shader processing rate 43.2 Gflops

8800GS (9600GSO)
Shaders 96
Texture units 48
Memory bandwidth 38.4 GB/s
Shader processing rate 396 Gflops

9600GT
Shaders 64
Texture units 32
Memory bandwidth 57.6 GB/s
Shader processing power 312 Gflops

If you can return that 8400GS do it. Instead get the Gigabyte 9600GT Marc suggested above.
 
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bball1523

Senior member
Jun 26, 2005
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is the fan on the 9600 GT loud? That concerns me because I have a fairly quiet system, and I really don't want my room have noise and heat if the video card gets too hot.
 
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bball1523

Senior member
Jun 26, 2005
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by the way, will my PSU work well with the 9600 GSO, and does that card get loud and hot, or louder and hotter than my 6800 GT?
 
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rogue1979

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Mar 14, 2001
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For $100 I would choose the PNY 9600GT for $89.99 free shipping at newegg. It is cool and quiet with the stock cooler, overclocks decently.

Bang for the buck I would go for the Powercolor HD 3850 for $62 after rebate at newegg.

They have a good deal for the Asus 9600 GSO for $54.99 after rebate. Don't get the $49, it has DDR2.

If you play Crysis I noticed the 9600 GSO was behind both the HD 3850 and the 9600GT because it has 384MB of memory vs 512MB for the other two. The 9600 GSO overclocks great and is slightly faster than the HD 3850 in other games that I tried.

Overall the 9600GT is slightly faster than the other two, the HD 3850 has good performance and uses the least power. The 9600 GSO is the cheapest.

Heck, they're all so cheap you can't go wrong with any of them. There's even a HD 4670 that could work for you.
 
adlep

adlep

Diamond Member
Mar 25, 2001
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Originally posted by: rogue1979
For $100 I would choose the PNY 9600GT for $89.99 free shipping at newegg. It is cool and quiet with the stock cooler, overclocks decently.

Bang for the buck I would go for the Powercolor HD 3850 for $62 after rebate at newegg.

They have a good deal for the Asus 9600 GSO for $54.99 after rebate. Don't get the $49, it has DDR2.

If you play Crysis I noticed the 9600 GSO was behind both the HD 3850 and the 9600GT because it has 384MB of memory vs 512MB for the other two. The 9600 GSO overclocks great and is slightly faster than the HD 3850 in other games that I tried.

Overall the 9600GT is slightly faster than the other two, the HD 3850 has good performance and uses the least power. The 9600 GSO is the cheapest.

Heck, they're all so cheap you can't go wrong with any of them. There's even a HD 4670 that could work for you.
Click to expand...

Ditto
 
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PG

Diamond Member
Oct 25, 1999
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Originally posted by: bball1523
I might go with the Asus: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814121251 I like the rebate on it; does anyone else think this is a good choice?
Click to expand...

That is your best choice right now. I know a 9600GT may be a bit better, but that 9600GSO is much cheaper and will get the job done. You can play any game with that. You will need to turn down some settings in Crysis, but that's pretty much every card.
Don't spend $30 or $40 more to get something that only runs a few frames per second faster. It's just not worth it.


 
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bball1523

Senior member
Jun 26, 2005
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will my 450 watt antec psu work well with the 9600 GSO? Also how hot and loud does that 9600 GSO get?
 
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betasub

Platinum Member
Mar 22, 2006
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Originally posted by: bball1523
How is my 8400 GS card slower? What specs make it slower? I know it has 512mb but GDDR2 rather than GDDR3, it is 64-bit rather than 256-bit. Do these things really make a big difference?
Click to expand...

Yes they do make a big difference, if there were a situation where 8400GS core was fast enough to be vRAM limited. Denithor's post show the actual specs that make the 8400GS so inferior, but the fact it uses slow DDR2 vs fast GDDR3 is a clue - further crippled by a 64bit interface (only 1/4 of the 256bit interface mid-high range cards typically have).
 
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rogue1979

Diamond Member
Mar 14, 2001
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Originally posted by: bball1523
will my 450 watt antec psu work well with the 9600 GSO? Also how hot and loud does that 9600 GSO get?
Click to expand...

I have two of the Asus 9600 GSO's. The don't have a temp sensor, but they still run cool.

The both overclock like mad, and I edited the bios for fan speeds and to throttle at 70C and they don't, so they are running cool even overclocked to 700/1750/2050.

That Asus cooler has a huge fan and is still quiet. I use an Antec Earthwatts 380 and it runs
stone cold even after extended gaming sessions.
 
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bball1523

Senior member
Jun 26, 2005
271
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76
Originally posted by: OCNewbie
As long as you don't mind forking $142 up front, and messing with a couple rebates, you can get a 9800GT (the new one, 55nm, hybrid-power) AND bump your total RAM to 4 gigs for $92 after 2x$25 MIR's

http://forums.slickdeals.net/s...?sduid=258530&t=981457
Click to expand...

that's too much for me at the moment. I haven't played games on my PC in a long time, and recently my PC had issues and it was my 6800 GT that was causing the issues as I've replaced it with a 8400 GS. But now I want to get a better card than the 6800 GT and the 8400 GS isn't it based on what everyone here has said.

Thanks for the suggestion though.
 
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rogue1979

Diamond Member
Mar 14, 2001
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The 192-bit of the 9600GSO stomps any 6800 series, it's not even close.

A 9600GT is slightly faster and slightly cooler. If you can get one for the same price or close to a 9600GSO grab it!
 
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lyssword

Diamond Member
Dec 15, 2005
5,761
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yeah 9600gso/ati3850 are at least 10x faster in actual gaming performance than 6800/8400gs
If you just use windows/watch videos and not game at all then it doesn't matter.
 
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